Automatic toaster



A. MCCORMICM AUTOMATIC TOASTER. APPLICATION msn MAR. 21.1919. 1,329,421Batented Feb. 3,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

@VEA/70K strains PATENT oFFIcE.

ALEXANDER neconmcx', or HIGHLAND PARK, IIIGHIGAN..

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER McCoR MICK, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residing at Highland Park, in the county of Wayne, and State ofMichigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in AutomaticToasters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to automatic toasters, that is, a toasting'traywhich can be set in a stove and at an appointed time will automaticallyrelease itself.v Apparatus of this character is very desirable inrestaurants where a large amount of toast is made and where the operatormay be engaged in other.

work while the toasting is being done. Y It dispenses with almostconstant attention that must be paid to these 'toasters if the toast isnot to be burned.

It is not broadly new to provide cooking apparatus which at a giventime'will autov A good eX- known egg timersv which are in use in largerestaurants and hotels. devices all work upon the principle of liftingthe eggs vertically out of the water..

This is not desirable with toast as toasters cannot very well beoperated except with trays that slide in a horizontal or nearlyhorizontal plane. Hence the apparatus that has heretofore been designedin connection Vlas with devices of the egg timer classis` not suitablefor use in connection with sliding .trays for toast.

It has also been su gested in the prior art to use timing .mec anismsfor releasing latches to allow pans toslide out of an oven but in thesedevices no provision is -made' for automatically re-setting the timingmechanism when the next batche is run into the oven. A

It is the object of this invention to provide an automatic toastergoverned -by suitable timing mechanisms which will automaticall releaseitself at a given time and which vwhen shoved back into`the oven willauto-v matically re-set the timing mechanism. .In the drawings, l

Figure 1 is a front view of the toasting oven equipped Vwith two trays,one shown projectedout and the other in the oven,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on theline 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross section through one of the trays and tray guides. f

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However, these Patented Feb. 3, 1920.

Fig.v 4 is a fragmentaryvertical vsection through the weight shaft.

Fig. 5 is a detail of the combined latch and resetting lever. Y

The stove comprises a suitable casing or housing in which are set three,or for that matter any number, of burners above and below the tray foreach oven. Each oven is provided with a pair of angle iron guides awhich are set/.at an uincline in the oven and in front of the'oven wherethey project out in substantially equal distances .to that of theirlength the oven. The ends are turned over to form stops b. The traycomprises simply a metal frame c equipped with a heavy wire mesh to formagrid. The front ofgthe tray is a bar dadapted to substantially closethetray opening in the oven when the tray is slid in. v

It will be seen that both the guides a and lthe burners are set -atsomewhat of 'an angle to the horizontal so that the tray will slide outby avity when released. Tothis end the rol ers eare provided runningfrom guide-way to guide-way. 0f course, equivm alent means could beprovided, with a horizontal guide-Way, 4such as a spring or a weight,but it is preferable to use the rollers.

On the front of each oven pivotally supported by a suitable bracket, isa bell crank arm a' provided with a heavy forwardarm and a l1 hter reararm so the natural dlspo- A v sition oi the bell crank arm is-that shownin Fig. 2. The smaller Aarm is provided with a slightly recessed endforming a toe and' heel so that when the arm is in the position y lshown in Fig. 1 it can straddle the upper edge of the bar d. The weightof the larger arm of the bell cranlr lever is reat enough so that thepotential ener of t e tray in its inward position is not su cient toovercomel The large or heavy arm of the bell crank:l

. lever is connected b a suitable cord f and pulleys with aweig t gshown in the shaft h. We have not thought it necessary to show theclock` mechanism or escapement of the timer.. Suice it to say thatsuchmechanism is old and already in use in egg timers., andthe same or akindred mechanism can be used -for this purpose in this automatictoastenf- It may be sulicient to say that the for instance, can be aheavy rack into the housing j in which the clock mechanism or escapementis located. The toothed stop bars k can be let down into thefshai't amoreor less distance to act as upward limits Vfor the weights g whenthey are drawn lu ward. These are held in engagement with the tooth-likeedge of the top of the housing by the springs Z. By adjusting these moreor less in and out of the housing, the exact time at which the tray isreleased can be determined. This will have to be determined more or lessby experience asthe time when the toast will be nicely browned woulddepend largely upon the gas .pressure and the distance of the burnersfrom the tray. When this has been determined the-adjustment may beeasily made. l

.The clockwork or escapementI acts in the customary way to require theweight g to always desceriei at a given rate until it drops 0H from thepinion z', when it is free to drop with its natural speed, completingthe pullingdup of the bell crank lever through the cor By releasing thetray and allowing the potential energy of its position to carry thetoaster out, the lever acts merely as a latch. On the return of the traythe lever takes up a new function as a -re-setting lever. On lthe returnofthe tray vinto the oven the bell crank lever 'w is in the positionshown at the left of Fig. 1 and by the dotted lines of Fig. 2. The heely is still in the path of the bar d land when the tray is shoved in thisheel y is picked up bythe bar d and the bell crank lever drawn down tothe position shown in the full lines o'Fig; 2, and with it, of course,the weight g raised in the shaft. Hence the timer is automaticallyre-set.

A certain amountof adjustment can be made of the'stop bars withoutaltering the connection between the cord and the bell crank lever.However, the several holes shown on the bell crank lever a' allow thechanging of the attachment of the cord f to give more or less movementto the cord for a corresponding throw of the heel of the lever.Referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen .that the toe of the lever does notclear the l bar d and release the toasting tray c until the 'bell cranklever m is almost to theA top of its throw. Hence this allows the leverto be pulled up some by the slow descent of the weight g withoutreleasing the tray until the rack weiglht is dropped 0H from the pinion.When t e weightA drops oi the pinion the lever :v is instantly pulled upand the tray released.

As already explained, we have not thought it necessary to illustrate theescapement, which might be varied -within considerable limits. -As anillustrationtof the kind of escapement suitable for the purpose,reference is'made to United States Patent No. 1,096,250 issued to C. C.VLamb for timing device for egg boilers. The @escapement compels thepinion z' in turning to let the weight g drop -only ,at a slowdetermined `.rate. The teeth of the rack are sloping on their tops sothat in pulling the weight up they slip over the teeth of the pinion,the

springs s permitting this, and the escapement holds the pinion fromturning while the rack wei ht g is drawn over it upward.

What'I c aim'is:

1. In apparatus for the purpose specified,

the combination of a toasting oven, a toasting tray slidable therein andarranged to project outwardly when released, a holding member forholding the tray inward until released,

and timing mechanism and connections with v the holding member forlreleasing the holding member at a given time, said holding member beingarranged to be struck by the tray when forced in to re-set the timingmechanism.

2. In apparatus for the purpose specified, the combination of a toastingoven, a toasting tray slidable in and out of the oven and arranged toproject outwardly from the oven when released, a bell crank lever forholding the tray in the oven, and timing mechanism and connections withthe bell crank lever for releasing the bell crank lever to allow thetray to slide out at an appointed time, said bell crank lever beingarranged on its return movement to re-set the timing mechanism.

3. In apparatus for the purpose specified, the combination of a toastingoven, a toasting tray slidable therein and arranged to project outwardlywhen released, a bell mechanism and connections with the belV cranklever, the' said timing mechanism being re-set by the heel of the bellcrank lever being struck by the tray on the return movement.

In witness whereof I havehereunto set my hand on the 3rd day of March,1919.

' ALEXANDER MCCORMICK.

